Bear Steps Hall Art Gallery

Free art in a proper gallery space - that's what you get at Bear Steps Hall, tucked away in Shrewsbury's medieval street network. The converted timber-framed building houses rotating exhibitions of contemporary work, from local painters to visiting sculptors, spread across several rooms that retain their historic character.

Families will find it manageable - an hour tops before younger visitors start getting restless. Art enthusiasts can easily spend longer browsing the changing displays, which tend towards accessible modern pieces rather than anything too avant-garde. The building itself is worth a look, with its wonky floors and exposed beams telling their own story.

Open daily until 4pm, it makes a decent rainy day stop when you're staying at one of the nearby parks like Love2Stay or Oxon Hall. Shrewsbury's compact centre means you can easily combine it with a wander around the town's other medieval bits - the castle, the abbey ruins, or just the maze of narrow streets.

Don't expect a massive collection or world-famous names. This is small-scale, community-focused stuff that changes regularly. Some exhibitions hit the mark better than others, but that's half the fun of dropping in. Well worth twenty minutes if you're already in town, and the price is certainly right.